Just as a group of people returned to the capital city from Tiewang Mountain, Prince Yi Zhong also returned to his residence in Anfu Hutong.
He went back to the study alone to think about it for a while and then made a decision.
"Zinian, prepare to go south immediately, today."
"Ah?" Wang Zinian was shocked when he was summoned. He had previously advocated going south, but Prince Yi Zhong disagreed, but why did he suddenly change his mind now?
"I talked to Ye Xianggao and hoped to supervise the country, but he flatly refused." Prince Yi Zhong looked very calm, "And his sentence of being inconsistent with the regulations meant that he would only recognize the fourth son's lineage..."
Wang Zinian was speechless. How could these civil servants turn around so easily?
If Niu Jizong's army entered the city and took control of the situation, they might be able to force them or induce some unwilling people to turn around. However, for someone like Ye Xianggao, he could go down and come back later, but it would be difficult for him to directly attack his side.
If they lose their sincerity, then they, the scholars, will no longer want the face and reputation.
"Don't take another look?" At this time, Wang Zinian felt a little unsure.
"We can't wait any longer..." Prince Yi Zhong seemed particularly decisive at this time, "Wait a little longer. When Fang Congzhe, Qi Yongtai and the others return to Beijing, they will react and make up their minds. They may not be able to leave. Now they are just not sure.
Father's thoughts, Gu is also a fox pretending to be a tiger,..."
"The Emperor's side is really..." Wang Zinian asked with some regret.
Prince Yi Zhong shook his head, "I have tried every means, but I can't see my father. The concubine also said useless things. The letter brought by Gu'an's people only said that my father reads and practices calligraphy all day long."
,..., but Ye Xianggao and the others must have sent someone to test out their father’s intentions, and he probably didn’t give them a good look either,..."
"Where is Master Gu..." Wang Zinian couldn't help but ask again.
"Lu Song is increasingly wary of Gu Cheng. Gu Cheng has almost taken over the few manpower he has. At most, he is just a few officials and a few private people in the north and south. It is difficult to stir up the overall situation. Moreover, if there is no father,
He will not help Gu Ye anymore." Prince Yi Zhong sighed, "Gu Ye probably knows what my father is thinking, but he is confused. In fact, he is not helping the common people of Zhou Dynasty.
Ah. I don't want to go to this point. The confrontation between the north and the south will definitely lead to a big war. Even if I can get the position of Dabao in the future, it will be another 'battle of peace'. To bridge the rift between the north and the south, I am afraid that I will go to war.
You may not be able to do well even if you die."
Wang Zinian could only sigh.
Indeed, if the Supreme Emperor could come forward and clearly express his support for Prince Yohitada's supervision of the country, then the civil servants in the DPRK would definitely not be able to stop it, and everything would fall into place. However, the Supreme Emperor is unwilling to come forward. This seems to be a conflict between the two, allowing the cabinet to make decisions, but it does not
It was only after thinking about the attitude of the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River and the nobles in the capital that it ended up in this situation.
Now that the prince has made up his mind, Wang Zinian felt relaxed at this time, "Everything has been prepared. The prince can leave through the secret passage right now. Prince Cheng has already made arrangements for his escape, but the prince, the other arrangements are
Can’t we also activate them together?”
A hint of ferociousness flashed across Prince Yi Zhong's face, "That's not necessary, the time is not yet ripe. We have already heard the news about the Chahars and Jurchens, so we can't interfere. We can't control what they do. Of course, the later we delay the action, the better. The White Lotus Sect will watch what happens on our side. This group of people is so ambitious that even a single person can hardly control it. If they start making trouble this time, they will mess up the situation. It would be a good thing to let Ye Xianggao and the others have a headache, so that they can all be exposed, so that they can be eradicated in one fell swoop when Gu comes to power!"
"Where is Shanshan...?" Wang Zinian asked again.
"Well, our people over there can just stay dormant, and they can just raise their arms at the critical moment, and let them do the rest." Prince Yi Zhong's face became even colder, "Since the Northland is so unwilling to accept being alone, then we can take advantage of this year's severe drought. In this situation, squeeze out the pustule and let these mud-legged people go and make trouble."
Wang Zinian nodded. Shanshan and Shaanxi had already made plans. This year's severe drought was just the right time to light a fire at the critical moment and spread the beacon smoke everywhere.
"Over there with the Cowboy..."
"He has his own plans, and he still needs to coordinate and discuss with Sun Shaozu. Presumably Chu Qi has already made arrangements for going south along the route, so there is no need for us to worry." Prince Yi Zhong waved his hands and took one last look at the situation in the palace. His expression was complicated, but Finally, he turned to determination, "Let's go, I will come back, but then I won't be back here."
*******
After receiving the notification that Prince Yi Zhong was going south, Niu Jizong breathed a sigh of relief.
From the beginning, he was not very in favor of attacking the capital, because he was not sure whether the assassination of the emperor could succeed. Even though the emperor was unconscious this time, Niu Jizong still felt uneasy, although he had strong control over the Xuanfu army. , but this was based on the situation that the emperor could not come forward, so even when he launched the attack on Gonghua City, he was still a little worried that the emperor would suddenly wake up.
Once the army approached the capital city and the emperor suddenly appeared on the city wall, the morale of the army would be shaken immediately, and there might even be a mutiny. Niu Jizong was also unsure whether he could control it.
From this point of view, Niu Jizong was unwilling to attack the capital city directly, but preferred to go south. Even if he fought with the imperial army in Jianghuai, Huguang, and Henan, he was not afraid at all, but he was unwilling to go to the capital. Whether the emperor can wake up is too variable and will have a great impact on the entire army.
Therefore, in addition to making preparations to move eastward, he was more concerned with planning to move south.
From the very beginning, Niu Jizong considered two routes to go south, one was to go through Shanxi, and the other was to take the North Zhili route.
There is no doubt that the Beizhili side is better, and the focus is on this side.
From the direction of the capital, passing through Zhuozhou, Baoding, Shunde, Guangping, Daming, and then diagonally inserted into Yanzhou, Shandong, we can rely on the canal for supply.
This journey is basically smooth sailing, and the layout has been in place since a year or two ago.
The road in Shanxi is much more difficult. It mainly goes south through the Inner Great Wall, passing through Luzhou and Zezhou into Henan.
This line has also undergone some layout, but it is used as a backup line.
Niu Jizong also knew that he could not take away all the Xuanfu Army's 70,000 to 80,000 troops, so all the non-direct lineage and elite members stayed with Yanqing and Wandu Division. In addition to following him eastward, Niu Jizong also wanted to take away the part that he wanted to take away.
Some of them stayed in Baoan Prefecture, and by this time they had already entered Baoding Prefecture to clear the way to Daqian Station.
Niu Jizong had already thought about it. If Prince Yi Zhong could achieve great things in the capital city, it would be a big deal whether he went to the capital himself or went south to Baoding.
If the big thing fails, it is very necessary to go south in advance. Although arrangements have been made in advance, the forward troops also need to make safe arrangements in advance.
Fortunately, the Great Zhou Dynasty always focused on the outside and ignored the inside. All the elites were stationed on the nine sides. The guard posts in the inland areas were basically just decorations. Niu Jizong didn't think anyone could resist his army going south.
But now he can't go south easily. He has to put on a show that he will continue to march eastward with the Datong Army and must take the capital city. Only in this way can You Shigong not dare to act rashly.
The situation on Sun Shaozu's side was better than expected, but it was a pity that it would be difficult to break into the capital city even with a combined army. Neither time nor logistics, food, and supplies were fully prepared. When Sun Shaozu's Datong soldiers came over, it is estimated that Ji Ji
Soldiers from the town and even Liaodong will arrive, and it is difficult to say whether the northwest soldiers who have been training in Qingyang will take advantage of the situation and move eastward. Niu Jizong does not think this is a good opportunity.
A series of battles quickly turned from gentle to fierce again, catching You Shigong by surprise.
I originally thought that this stalemate would continue forever. Unexpectedly, it only took two days for the Xuanfu army to calm down. The Xuanfu army's offensive became fierce again. The two armies even launched a fierce confrontation at Yuquan Mountain and Qinghedian again, forcing You Shigong to have to fight.
An urgent order was issued to transfer some guards from Tongzhou Dingbian Guards to supplement them.
"What? Zhuozhou fell?" When You Shigong received the news, he could hardly believe his ears, "When did it happen?"
"It should have happened seven days ago." The messenger was almost paralyzed on the ground from exhaustion, his face covered with dust. "I sent three groups of messengers, but I never received a reply, so I had to come in person..."
"The three guards of Zhuolu..." You Shigong stared at each other.
The Three Zhuolu Guards are the three guards on the left, middle and right of Zhuolu. The Zhuolu Guards are divided into three guards, but they are all stationed in Zhuozhou. Their strength is not large. The three guards add up to only more than 3,000 people, but they are Shuntian Prefecture.
The most important and largest logistics supply base in the southwest, many equipment, grain, grass and materials in Datong and Shanxi towns are transferred from here.
"The three guards rebelled, and only Beizhi was outside. They found that the situation was not right, but the Xuanfu army came too suddenly, and Beizhi did not have time to react. He only took more than a hundred people to escape to Liulihe Mobile, and then went to inquire about the news, and sent out one after another
People came to report to your lord, but there was no reply. I really couldn’t wait any longer so I came in person..."
You Shigong was shocked. Niu Jizong had already made arrangements and recognized the important value of the three Zhuolu Guards. He was afraid that he would send troops south to control the Zhuolu Guards when they marched eastward. Even the people of the Zhuolu Guards had already been theirs.
The person who arranged it.
This kind of officer, who is nominally under the jurisdiction of Ji Town but actually belongs to the local guard station, has no regard at all, but it can be of great use at this time.
If we take down the Three Guards of Zhuolu, we can safely go straight to Baoding. We are truly secure and don’t have to worry about food and logistics. Regardless of whether we capture Baoding or not, with the limited population and military strength of Baoding Prefecture, how can we dare to go to Hexuan Prefecture?